The Secrets of Wandlore
by Kasamyra
Summary: Olivia Ollivander has always been a strange girl. She understands more about animals and plants than she does about humans, but as the only living descendant of the famous wand maker, Garrick Ollivander, she must take over his business someday, and after over a year of studying abroad with other wand makers, she finally has returned home, just in time to help rebuild after the war.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Phoenix Eyrie

Olivia Ollivander was a very strange girl. Many people said so, and often, they weren't polite enough to say it away from her ears. She never seemed to mind though. She never got upset or angry, though the insults and talk about her had grown more and more harsh over her seven years at Hogwarts.

The teasing never surprised her though, and she knew that she did many things that would seem odd to anyone but her, so she accepted the talk as a part of life that was inescapable and settled for just ignoring it. A lot of it died away when her classmates discovered that she would not react to it, and by the time she had completed her NEWT's, most people simply ignored her, which she was fine with.

She never really understood people very well, though she could tell a lot about them just by observing them for a short time.

It was almost second nature to her, to be able to know who was brash, who was kind, who was good at charms or potions, who preferred the indoors to the outdoors, who preferred books to people, and their names, she could always know their names. Those were things that she just knew subconsciously, a gift inherited from her grandfather.

Olivia preferred wild things to people though, and she had spent a lot of her school years in the forbidden forest.

While she didn't understand people, she felt at home with the plants and creatures of the forest.

The trees listened when she talked to them, the wind sang to her, and the creatures were her friends.

Hagrid had given up shooing her out of the woods after her first year, when he saw that she wouldn't harm the woods, and the creatures there wouldn't harm her.

This oddity had been noticed by her classmates as well though, and had led to much more teasing remarks, but those too had died away through the years.

At twenty years of age, her grandfather had sent her to South America as a part of her continual instructions in the art of wand making, which was a talent that ran in her family for generations.

She had spent years studying the effects of different materials, why the wand would choose a specific person, and even what kind of magic it was that allowed the wand to know its rightful owner.

The war had broken out only days after her departure from England, and she had nearly returned when her grandfather stopped replying to her letters, but the old witch she had been sent to study with was ill, and had very little time left to teach Olivia her secrets, so she had stayed.

She had spent almost a complete year there, with no word from her grandfather, and as he was her only remaining family, she was worried, but she knew somehow that he was still alive, and that thought kept her away from the war, which, she was sure, was what he had intended.

In the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, deep in the center of the thickest area, there was rumored to be a Phoenix Eyrie, which was where Olivia ventured to after the old witch she had been studying with succumbed to her illness.

Olivia had long since learned the speech of beasts, it was something she had worked hard to master through her years at school, and with it, she did not fear any creature she would encounter in the thick forests, and that ability made sure she was never alone.

As she traveled the forest on foot, as she preferred to do as flying was just too rushed to really learn from the creatures and plants there, she was never alone.

The snakes and lizards in the forest slithered along with her, letting her collect the scales they shed, which she labeled neatly and stored in her pack, the only thing she carried with her.

The birds and monkeys brought her fruit to eat and plants useful in potion making, which she also kept.

The larger beasts, wild cats and bears, left her alone for the most part, though once in a while a wild alpaca or a deer would consent to carry her for a distance. She had always been slim and small, so her weight did not burden them much, as they told her.

The bugs left her alone too, though they would sometimes consent to bring her their dead brethren once she had explained to them that other wizards used the dead beetles and bugs in potion making.

Occasionally on her slow journey through the woods, Olivia would encounter a tree with magical properties, most commonly Mahogany, but others too.

She would sit with these trees for hours at a time, sometimes days, and talk to them, get to know them, and let them get to know her. Sometimes they consented to let her take wood from their branches to later fashion into wands, sometimes they would not, and she would thank them for their time and move on.

The Amazon was a wand makers dream. Besides the Phoenix Eyrie, which was mostly just rumor as very few had ever tried to find it, the forest also held the largest population of Unicorns, and Olivia collected every hair she found, some pulled out by plants, others brought to her by the curious and helpful tiny monkeys that always seemed to be about.

The unicorns were shy, but she gained their trust quickly when they saw that she never killed or took without permission, and within weeks of her travels beginning, the herd would bring her their shed horns to collect.

The forest also held dragons, though they were much more secretive and hidden than the unicorns were. A monkey would occasionally bring her scales shed by the dragons, and they would lead her to the molted remains of dragon skin, where she could collect the three heartstrings leftover with each shed. Most dragons lost their old skins once a year, just as most unicorns lost and regrew their horns once a year, but as it was much more difficult to find wild dragons, dragon heartstrings were by far the most rare wand core.

Captive dragons on reserves didn't shed, as they did not have the freedom to grow as large as they would like to, and Olivia had found she disliked the dragon reserves anyway, she did not like seeing any creatures caged, though many of the dragons kept in the reserves had been brought there because they were injured and needed care. She just wished they could be released back into the wild after they were healed.

Though her grandfather had been very adamant that only the three strongest cores be used in his wands, Olivia had ventured away from that thought at a young age. While it was true that dragon heartstring, phoenix tail-feathers, and unicorn hairs did make for the strongest wands for most witches and wizards, she had learned from books and other wand makers that some people were more fitted to other, rarer cores, such as Thestral or Veela hairs, or coral or dittany stalks, and sometimes even Kneazle whiskers or Kelpie manes, as her grandmother had used. These cores, Olivia had found, did not make for weaker wands, as her grandfather believed, but the wands using them were much harder to master and had much more specific qualifications for which witch or wizard they would choose.

Thestral hair could only be commanded by those who could face death with honor, Veela hair only chose those who had very influential personalities, Kneazle whiskers only picked people who were true and honest.

These were things she had discovered on her own since her grandfather did not study them.

By the time Olivia reached the deepest parts of the forest, her pack was nearly full of various lengths of wood, wand materials, potion ingredients, plants, flowers, and a bit of leftover fruit from her previous days meals. She had made good friends with a few creatures who had stayed with her through her four month long journey. One was a very light golden haired tamarin monkey who's fur made him look like a small white lion. He was only about ten inches in length, though his long tail added another eight inches. He had long slim fingers, which he used to grip onto Olivia's long white-blonde hair as she walked. He had come to her at first because her hair color was so similar to his own, and had stayed when she had been kind to him. A green iguana had also chosen to stay with her as she traveled. He was large for his kind, over a foot in length, with an extra ten inches of tail. He weighted nearly eight pounds, and had decided to stay on top of her pack while she walked, using his sharp toes to cling on.

Small frogs would occasionally hitch rides on her for a time as well, but they would leave whenever the large forest birds came to investigate the strange girl.

It was nearing the end of what she knew would be winter back home, but here was just a slightly less humid time of year, when she began to feel the residual heat that marked a phoenix habitat. It started with the flowers, as she had been told. They bloomed larger and more brightly colored around the edges of the eyrie, and the trees thinned, their branches growing high above her head with their large leaves blocking out the sky, but thin enough to let sunlight through.

The air was different here too. Instead of the slightly muggy, heavy air of most of the forest, here it was dry and she began to see more hot weather plants like cactus's and palm trees. There were very few wild animals in the area, the warmer it got, but the iguana traveling with her seemed to appreciate the heat, though the small monkey hid under her hair as she walked.

It was only about a mile from the beginning of the changes before Olivia saw the first flashes of bright colors in the trees. The birds were too fast for her to see clearly, but she knew they watched her, she could feel their intelligent eyes following her.

Finally, after nearly an entire day of walking, Olivia came to a wide valley full of blackened trees that were bare of leaves and small branches. The ground was littered with piles of those though, shaped into nests or dens.

The air was empty and eerily silent around her, and the bright light from the sun was directly above her as she began to walk along the edges of the valley in silence until she came to a tree that overlooked the valley. There she settled in to wait.

The old witch she had most recently studied with, the one who had told her about the eyrie, had said that the phoenix's would test her somehow, usually a test of patience. She would have to wait until they approached her.

Phoenixes, unlike dragons and unicorns, did not shed. Phoenix tail-feathers had to be given, or forcefully taken though Olivia didn't even consider that method of retrieval.

She sat unmoving for most of the afternoon, watching the sun crawl across the sky or the few birds that flew over the empty place. She knew the phoenixes were there, watching her from the trees or hiding spots in their nests and dens. She could see flashes of red and orange on the very far reaches of the valley, but she did not react to them.

The iguana had crawled into her lap and was asleep over her legs. The small Tamarin monkey had disappeared into the forest behind her to gather nuts and berries and bugs, which he sometimes shared with the iguana. She knew he would come back if he wanted to so she didn't look for him.

The sun set in the late afternoon, and Olivia dozed off, leaning against the trunk of the tree she sat under.

In the darkness that came with night, the valley seemed to glow. It wasn't quite fire, but the layers of leaves and branches underneath the burnt trees seemed alight with magic. It didn't engulf the dried twigs and plant life above it, but it warmed the area so much that Olivia eventually began to sweat through her jacket. She remained still though, noticing that, in the darkness, more and more of the large birds were coming out of the woods to go to their nests.

They didn't approach her the first night, and eventually she curled up under the tree, using her pack as a pillow, and went to sleep.

She woke in the morning as the first rays of sunlight hit her face, and sat up slowly, resuming her place by the tree. The Tamarin monkey had brought her three bananas, one of which she ate, one went into her pack, and the last she peeled and set aside for the small creature, who quickly devoured it.

With the rise of the sun came the rise of the phoenixes. Today they did not hide from her, but rather went along with their business as usual, perching on the burnt trees and ignoring her.

Again, she waited all day and night.

On the morning of the third day, they finally approached her, and she smiled softly at the first few birds to perch near her. They did not speak to her in the way that other creatures did, but she knew they were intelligent by human standards, so she spoke to them.

She explained why she had come and what she desired, ending with a request so they would know she was not demanding the feathers from them.

At the end of her speech, they left, flying over the valley as they began a soft song that made the hairs on the back of Olivia's arms rise.

She watched in awe as over a hundred of the fire colored birds rose from nests and surrounding trees to join in the song. They were beautiful, and she knew that even if she received nothing from them and never returned here, this would be something she never forgot.

Over the course of the day, phoenixes approached the tree she had taken refuge under. They perched on the branches over her head and sometimes on the ground around her, and one by one they came into her circle of shade cast by the leaves above her head.

They would stare into her eyes with their own black ones, sometimes for only a few moments, other times for long minutes, searching for something in them though she wasn't sure what. Many of them would then turn, using their sharp beaks to pluck out a single feather from their beautiful tails, then they would drop it in front of her and she would thank them. Then they would leave and the next would approach her.

Sometimes they didn't leave anything, turning to leave after staring into her eyes. She would thank those creatures as she did the ones who left her feathers, knowing that they had their reasons for not giving her anything. Some of the majestic birds gave her more than one feather, and a few even approached her after leaving feathers, their large eyes watering, and allowed her to collect a few of their tears. They knew that humans valued the healing properties in their tears, and though she hadn't asked them for such a gift, they must have known she would value the tears as well.

By nightfall she had almost two full vials of tears, and dozens of feathers. She tucked the items into her pack carefully, and decided to stay for another night in the warm valley before starting her return trip home.

She could have traveled the distance in less than a second if she used magic, but she had found over her years of studying wandlore, that the unfinished cores and woods were most easily shaped and fashioned when they were exposed to less magic. She wasn't sure why that was true, but it was, and traveling without magic in the rain forest was an adventure in its own, as though she was earning the right to use the materials she collected.

Now that they had deemed her acceptable for the most part, many of the phoenixes stayed near her after sunset. They seemed to glow with magic as much as the ground beneath them did. The youngest ones were the most curious about her, coming close enough to pull on her hair and clothes with their beaks at times, though they were careful not to scratch her as they did so.

The birds, when they became old, burst into flame and were reborn from the ashes until such a time that they decided to move on from this life and then their ashes were blown into the wind. They could, if they wanted to, find a mate and lay eggs though, and the young phoenixes had much lighter feathers, almost yellow in color. With each rebirth the feathers would darken until they were deep red, nearly black, though many of the creatures moved on to the next life before they reached that color as it took centuries to accomplish. She saw two of the dark birds among the flock, one of which had given her a feather.

The morning of her fourth day in the eyrie, Olivia finally left her place under the tree and began her trek along the edge of the valley, the iguana on top of her pack, the small Tamarin monkey curled around her neck underneath her hair, his tail wrapped around the collar of her shirt and his long fingered paws gripping the strap of her pack that wrapped over her chest to make the weight easier to carry.

She walked the full day's journey back to the very edges of the area affected by the phoenixes, where the flowers bloomed bigger than average, and the air began to grow humid, and though the sun had long since set, she continued her journey, hoping to reach a copse of willow trees she knew to be only half a mile ahead where she had spent the night on her trip in.

When she finally reached the trees, she found that a phoenix was there as well, waiting for her. It was one of the two largest birds, its feathers a deep red, near black, though she could tell, somehow, that it was the one who had not given her a feather.

She bowed to the bird, in slight awe of its age and beauty, then knelt in front of him. He regarded her for a moment with his piercing black eyes, then he spoke to her, not in the way other creatures did, through chirps or body movements, but directly into her mind.

 _Very few humans travel to our lands, little witch,_ the voice said in her mind, the words ringing with a deep, musical tone. _And many of those who do, come only to steal. You, however, come to learn and to create. We reward those we venture this far and come with a pure heart._

"I require no further reward than the feathers you have already given," Olivia said in a soft voice. "As I said yesterday, I only wish to create wands."

 _Which is why my clan has decided to give you another gift,_ the great bird said, dipping his head slightly. _We are the Flamewing clan, the largest clan of our kind, and the most sought by your kind, though few of you are permitted to find us. We give you this gift knowing that in the future you will require more of our feathers to create your magic wands, and we wish to help you again._

He moved aside, his long tail feathers shifting to reveal a single, pure black shape about the size of both of Olivia's fists held together. He nodded to it with his large head, and she very gingerly picked it up, not sure exactly what it was. It pulsed with a strong heat, filling her whole body with warmth as she looked at the smooth surface.

 _This egg holds the youngest of my clan,_ the bird said, and Olivia looked up at him with awe, the egg held carefully in her palms. _We gift her to you knowing that you will care for her. When she hatches she will know how to return here, and we will give her our feathers to bring to you._

"I don't know how I can thank you enough," Olivia said, her voice full of awe and gratitude.

 _She will hatch when she is ready, there is not a designated length of time for the hatching to occur. It may be days or years,_ the bird explained, his feathers ruffling in the slight wind. _Until then, keep the egg near you and she will draw strength from your spirit._

Olivia nodded in understanding.

 _Farewell then, young witch,_ he said, and spread his wings gracefully, disappearing into the night sky.

Olivia set the egg carefully onto the ground, shrugging off her pack and unrolling the sleeping bag tied to the bottom of it as she prepared to sleep. The egg glowed just slightly in the darkness, the same way the phoenixes and their nesting ground glowed, and Olivia made sure it was wrapped carefully into a spare hat she had in her pack before she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Birds of Paradise

The next morning broke the peace of Olivia's journey. She had woken with the rise of the sun packed her things back into her bag while chewing on a handful of berries the small monkey had given her the night before. She had taken some extra time in the early morning light to fashion a kind of sling out of a spare shirt, which she then hung around her neck, tucking the phoenix egg into the front of it.

She had been walking for only an hour or so when she heard a loud, echoing scream that set birds of all kinds into flight. She thought, at first, that it might be some kind of monkey, as many of their calls did sound somewhat human, but she went to investigate when she heard thrashing. If it was a monkey, it was clearly hurt, and if it wasn't a monkey… well, any human this far into the woods had to be magical. Muggles wouldn't have survived so long.

The forest fell silent before Olivia found whatever was making the noise, but her animal friends in the surrounding trees directed her into a small clearing, where she saw that it was, in fact, a human who had screamed.

The girl was small, and very white, though Olivia saw that the color could be due to the four deep, bleeding gashes that littered her body. Her dark hair stood out sharply against her skin, and the dirt absorbed the blood that stained her clothing.

Olivia dropped her pack carefully onto the ground and extracted the vial of phoenix tears she had only just collected the previous day, then approached the girl, keeping a watch out for whatever had attacked her. She had her suspicions about a long, brown and red snake coiled above their heads in a tree, but for now she turned her focus to the human, carefully tipping the vial so that the smallest amount of tears fell to her skin. The liquid hissed as it hit the girl, and Olivia watched as the gashes shrunk and bright, pink skin grew over the wounds. After making sure the girl was still breathing, Olivia moved her so she would rest comfortably, then turned to talk to the snake.

The snake was angry, telling Olivia that the brown haired girl had stepped on the ground above her den and trapped her eggs there. The snake, nearly two feet in length, led Olivia to the edge of the clearing where there seemed to be a small crater of freshly moved dirt. Olivia carefully began moving the dirt away from the hole, slowly unearthing what had previously been the snakes home. She did not touch any of the inch long, white oval eggs she unearthed, instead letting the snake take care of them. One egg was crushed, but Olivia was able to convince the snake that the injury it had already caused was an equal repayment of the damage.

When Olivia returned to the clearing, she found the monkey and the iguana waiting for her.

"If you would be so kind as to find us some fruit to eat?" She asked the monkey, who chittered that he would try then scampered off into the leaves.

"And you, Mr. Lizard, would you be able to find wild rose petals?" The iguana flicked his tongue, which she knew to mean agreement, then she turned to pull other things out of her pack. She had dittany and nettle leaves, valerian root, fairy wings, and silverweed extract, but in order to make the blood-replenishing potion that the girl so obviously needed, Olivia would need to find rose petals and honey.

She collected small sticks and leaves to use to start a fire, then she set about finding something to use as a cauldron after sending some small, curious birds off to locate a bee hive.

Finally giving in to the need for magic, Olivia got out her wand and moved her pack to the other side of the clearing, then transfigured a metal earring she found on the brown haired girl into a small bowl that would be passable. She used large sticks and twine from her pack to construct a frame to hold the bowl above the fire, then she used an auguamenti charm to fill the bowl with water. She poked the fire to life, then carefully added the other ingredients, letting the mixture simmer until the iguana returned, two large petaled roses clasped in his mouth. They weren't the type of roses usually used in the potion, but Olivia knew they would work almost as well. She thanked the lizard, then added the rose petals. The last ingredient was honey, which the birds told her could be found halfway up a tree a quarter mile from the clearing.

Olivia walked quickly and climbed the tree with ease. Bees were a little less understanding than other insects, and Olivia had to use her wand in the end, shielding herself from their stings while she extracted just enough honey to be useful.

Back in the clearing, her small monkey friend had found a plethora of fruits and berries, making a small pile beside Olivia's pack. The girl was awake, trying to sit up against a tree, but her arms would not hold her strength. Olivia ignored her for the moment, adding the honey to the mixture, then extinguishing the fire. She strained the potion into the jar she had just emptied of fairy wings, using a piece of material from her shirt turned sling to keep out the larger bits of leaves and plants.

In the jar, the potion cooled within minutes, turning a bright red color, and finally, Olivia approached the girl.

Her eyes were open, dull blue and unseeing. Olivia helped her to sit up against a tree trunk, then tipped the potion into her mouth, making sure the girl swallowed a few mouthfuls. She filled the bowl with water, turning her back to cast the charm, then offered that to the girl as well.

The potion took a few minutes to work, but soon enough the girls eyes were open all the way, and she looked around the clearing in confusion.

"Are you hungry?" Olivia asked after a few moments, her voice cautious. "I only have fruit, but the sugar in it will make you feel better, I think," she continued when the girl looked at her. Olivia's cheeks flushed a pale red color and she looked down at herself, noting her dirty clothes and unwashed hair. She hadn't cared about these things when she had been alone in the woods, but now that there was another human here to notice them, she felt embarrassed. She was sure her face wasn't much cleaner than the rest of her.

She had come across many small ponds and streams, and had rinsed off the dirt her skin had collected in each one, but it had been at least a week since the last stream.

The girl tried to speak, but coughed instead, and Olivia forgot that she was embarrassed and went over to help the girl drink more water from the transfigured bowl.

"My-my camera," the girl began in a scratchy voice, and Olivia, kneeling beside her, sat back on her heels in confusion, head tilted to the side. "My backpack-"

"I didn't see any bags," Olivia said, realizing what the girl must have been talking about. She looked up into the trees as the birds above her head chirped that they had seen some things that didn't belong in the forest, only a short walk out of the clearing. Olivia stood to investigate, then came back with the two heavy bags the girl must have carried with her. She set them carefully onto the ground next to the girl, who immediately, but weakly, began to unzip the bag and shuffle through it. Finally, she sighed with relief as she pulled a large camera from the depths of the backpack and looked it over to make sure it was undamaged.

"How did you find me here?" The girl asked at last, eyes narrowing suspiciously in Olivia's direction.

"I heard you scream," Olivia said, shrugging as she sat on the ground on the other side of her temporary fire. She cradled the phoenix egg, still in its sling, as she spoke. It filled her with warmth again, even through the material, making her a little less nervous around this human girl.

"Oh right, there was a snake…" she said, trailing off as she looked into the branches above her head with fear, as though expecting the snake to still be there, then she looked down at her arms and torso with confusion, looking at the ripped clothing and bloodstains, then at the pink skin beneath them."I thought it bit me."

"You stepped on her den and buried her eggs," Olivia explained. "She was angry."

"Um, okay," the girl said, shaking her head in confusion. "But it did bite me?"

"Yes," Olivia said, her head tilted to the side again as she tried to figure out why the other girl was talking in such an odd, confused tone.

"But then… why am I not dead?" She asked. Olivia frowned.

"I healed you of course," she said, her voice patient.

"Healed me…" the girl repeated to herself. "How?"

"Phoenix tears," Olivia said simply. "You sound like you are from America. Did you attend Ilvermorny?"

"Ilver- what?" The girl asked, looking at Olivia as though she was speaking a foreign language. "And wait… did you say phoenix tears? Is this a joke?"

"Oh," Olivia said, her heart sinking as she finally understood. "You… you're a muggle aren't you?"

"A muggle?" The girl repeated, getting to her feet shakily. "No, I'm a photographer."

"Oh," Olivia repeated, getting to her own feet to back away. She had been very wrong in assuming a muggle couldn't make it so far into the woods. She hadn't thought that any of them would have the patience to come in here on foot, as it had taken her nearly four months to get so far. Though she had gone slowly… and she had spent a lot of time with various trees that she wanted to harvest wood from. And she had walked a very meandering trail, going where she wanted instead of making a straight line. She supposed it was possible for the girl to have come in this far on her own without the use of magic.

"Can you please explain what is going on?" The girl asked in a scared voice, bringing Olivia back to the present. She had already said too much, she would have to wipe the girls memory anyway, to keep with the statute of secrecy. But first she would help the girl to leave so that she wasn't attacked by some other creature. Now that Olivia looked at her, she noted that the girl's arms were covered with healing scrapes and bug bites.

"I came here to collect materials to make magic wands," Olivia said simply, almost smiling as the girls eyes opened wide with shock. "Why did you come here?"

"To photograph birds of paradise for a study," she said automatically as she was clearly confused by Olivia's words. "Magic… wands?"

"Yes, like this one," she said, holding hers up for the girl to see. "I wouldn't usually be breaking our statute of secrecy, but you look as though you will need help to get out of the forest." The girl seemed not to hear her for a few long moments, then she looked back at Olivia as though she finally understood something.

"You're one of those crazy hermit people aren't you?" She asked, taking a step back. "One of those people who live in the forests their whole lives and never meet other people."

"No, I'm from London," Olivia said, chuckling.

"Prove it," the girl said, and Olivia tilted her head to the side.

"That I'm from London?" She asked, frowning.

"No, that you aren't crazy," the girl said, still backing away.

"And how should I do that?" Olivia asked, kneeling down to take apart the frame she had used to keep the bowl over the fire. She set the sticks to one side and wrapped the twine up to put back into her bag.

"Magic… doesn't exist," the girl began, her speech halting. She didn't seem to know what to say after that though and fell silent.

"Oh, well that's easy enough," Olivia said, sitting back on her feet, legs folded under her. She lifted her wand and said 'accio' in a quiet breath. One of the figs that had been in the pile of fruit by her pack flew into the air. She caught it and held it above her head for the small tamarin monkey to grab. He had been watching from the trees, unsure of whether to trust this new human or not, but now he reached down to accept the fruit. The girl gasped, then sat down hard where she was, gazing back and forth from the pile of fruit to Olivia.

"What are you called?" Olivia asked her after another moment.

"Erin," the girl said, seeming to shake herself out of her shock.

"I'm Olivia. It's pleasant to meet you," Olivia said, smiling. "Will you allow me to accompany you out of the forest?"

"I… guess so," Erin said, then sighed, finally seeming to accept the things that Olivia had been saying. "But I can't leave yet."

"Oh?" Olivia inquired, her voice confused as she tilted her head to one side.

"I'm looking for this bird… he's called a Channel-billed Toucan. They only live in a small part of the forest, and I've been looking for them for weeks," Erin said, her voice growing more enthusiastic as she spoke. "If I could just get a few pictures… I'm a wildlife photographer for 'Discover'. If I could get a picture of the toucan, I'd be the first at the company to see one in its natural habitat."

"I see," Olivia said, nodding. She knew that photography, along with other kinds of visual art, were far more common and appreciated in the muggle world, though she wasn't sure what this 'Discovery' company did. "What does he look like?"

"Oh they are beautiful," Erin said, her eyes unfocused as she thought. "They have black feathers on their backs, but their chests are covered with white and gold, and sometimes green or red plumage. Their bills are almost as large as their body, and they are dark blue, with lighter blue rings around the base."

"I've never seen one like that," Olivia said, but looked above her head into the trees as she spoke. Most of the birds that had fled at the screams hours before, had returned as the sky began to darken.

"Well they nest in the very tops of the trees," Erin said, looking up as well. "Um, Olivia, there's a giant lizard right above your head." Olivia looked up to see the iguana who had been traveling with her sitting on a thick branch, his tail wrapped around it for balance.

"Yes," Olivia said, reaching up with both arms to let the iguana crawl down to her. "They fled when you woke up. They weren't sure whether to trust you or not."

"You talk to them?" Erin asked, coming closer to Olivia to see the iguana better. "Is that part of your… magic stuff?"

"Sort of," Olivia said, smiling. "It's something I learned when I was young. Most creatures will speak to you if you just take the time to listen to them." Erin let out a small squeak as the tamarin monkey finally left the trees, jumping down onto the top of Olivia's head, then crawling beneath her hair to peer out at the new human as Olivia bent to set the heavy lizard on the ground. The birds above her head, chirping between themselves since Erin had spoken, fell back into silence as one of them, a small brown hummingbird, flitted down to perch on Olivia's shoulder. It sat directly next to her ear as it chirped in it's almost silent voice, that a pair of birds like the ones Erin had described, nested at the top of a tree nearly ten miles west of there. Olivia smiled as the bird took off again.

"They just come to you?" Erin asked, her eyes following the tiny bird as it disappeared back into the trees.

"Yes," Olivia said. "I have already made friends with many of these birds. They remember me from my trip in. Why are you here alone? I thought muggles always traveled in groups."

"I was supposed to have a guide," Erin said, frowning. "But he didn't want to stay very long, so we split up abut a week ago and he went home." Olivia could tell from her tone that the full story was something different, but she let it go for now. "What's that word you keep using? Muggle?"

"It means a non-magical person," Olivia said, shrugging. "Like you. How do you survive here by yourself?" Olivia was just as curious about the muggle girl as the other girl seemed to be about her. Olivia could use an aguamenti charm, and her animal friends brought her food, so surviving here was easy for her, but she wasn't sure how Erin could survive without water charms.

"The toucans I've been looking for like wet areas, so I'm always near water," Erin said, patting her backpack, which probably contained a water bottle. "I have peroxide to clean it. And I have always been good at hunting. There are a lot of squirrels here, and its easy to rig up a wire trap for them."

"That's very resourceful of you," Olivia said. "The birds tell me that a pair like you described live about ten miles from here. We could make it there by tomorrow noon if we leave at dawn."

"That would be fantastic," Erin said, grinning, then she seemed to think of something new and frowned. "Wait, if you can use magic, can't you just teleport or something?"

"We call it apparating," Olivia said, her smile patient as she began untying her sleeping bag from her pack. "I can do that, yes, but the materials I came here to collect are more pliable when they are exposed to less magic. Besides, I prefer walking. There is too much in this forest to see, apparating would mean missing all of it."

"I guess that makes sense," Erin said, then frowned when she saw what Olivia was doing. "Don't you have a tent or something?"

"No," Olivia said, sliding into her sleeping bag after carefully removing the phoenix egg from its sling. "The bugs will not bother me and I am warm enough without shelter."

"Can you tell the bugs to 'not bother me' too?" Erin asked, chuckling as she began to pull things out of a bag.

"They have not touched you while I have been here," Olivia said, closing her eyes. The darkness here was never completely black. There were all sorts of glowing insects and stars that lit the ground.

"Oh, you're right. I guess I didn't notice," Erin said from across the clearing. "I'm still going to put up a tent, if you don't mind. It feels weird sleeping in the open."

"Do as you like," Olivia said, smiling as she felt the iguana crawling into her sleeping bag with her. The small monkey had curled up on top of her pack, and the phoenix egg was held in her arms, keeping both her, and the lizard warm.

She listened for a few minutes as Erin set up a tent, then moved her backpack and other things inside it. Finally it fell silent, and Olivia drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Homeward Bound

It was nearing the end of the third week since Olivia had come across Erin when the two girls finally topped a rise that gave them a view of the ocean.

"I know this inlet," Erin said while they set up camp for the night.

In the past three weeks, they had become almost friends, though Olivia had nothing to compare that to. Being a loner for her entire life, she was not used to being able to so easily communicate with another human being, But Erin was easy for her to get along with. The other girl spoke almost continuously, and she didn't seem to mind that Olivia hardly ever gave a response.

Olivia had listened closely though, curious to learn more about muggle life. Being a pureblood who was raised in the wizarding world, all Olivia knew of muggles was what she had learned in school, and the last three weeks had taught her that her education from Hogwarts was severely lacking in the area. She'd had to ask Erin to explain nearly half the things she had said, but the dark haired girl didn't seem to mind, or find it strange.

"There's a fishing village just around that outcropping," Erin continued as Olivia used nearby stones to create a safe barrier for a fire. "I'm sure someone there will be able to take us to the city."

"Which city would that be?" Olivia asked, not knowing the muggle names.

"Rio, of course," Erin said, rolling her eyes. "I've been staying there for the last two years. Wait, you're coming to the city too, right? You never exactly told me where you're headed."

"I said I was from London," Olivia said, gathering twigs and dry leaves for their fire. "I will return there."

"After you erase my memories," Erin said, sighing sadly. Olivia had told her about the necessity on their second day of journeying together, and at first, Erin had been angry, then scared, but Olivia had explained it to her over and over until she finally understood it was necessary to keep them both safe.

"I won't erase everything," Olivia said. "I've thought about it, and I think that I can just take away the magic without taking away everything."

"Really?" Erin said, stopping in the middle of setting up her tent to look at Olivia hopefully.

"I am not as adept at memory charms as I could be, but I think I understand the theory well enough. It'll take some time though," Olivia said, mostly to herself. She really didn't want to completely erase herself from Erin's mind, though her reasoning was a little selfish. She'd never had a real friend before, and she didn't want to lose this one.

"Do you want to try now?" Erin asked, finishing her tent. "I'm close enough that I can get out of the forest by myself now if it goes wrong, and we may not have time once we get to the village."

"Yes, alright," Olivia said. She knew that Erin had only suggested it because she wanted to see more magic being performed. "Sit," Olivia said, gesturing to the ground in front of the unlit fireplace. She moved her bag, full to the brim with the things she had collected, across the clearing so it would be as far from them as possible, and she left the monkey and lizard, both still with her, to guard it. She took a seat in front of Erin.

"What will happen if you do it wrong?" Erin asked, her face betraying her nervousness.

"At worst, you will forget that I exist and the last three weeks will be a blur," Olivia said truthfully. "At best, you will just think I'm a bit odd and use a lot of herbal remedies."

"Right, okay then," Erin said, taking in a deep breath. "Go ahead."

"Close your eyes," Olivia instructed, following her own directions. She gripped her wand tightly in her hand, focusing her mind. First, she used occlumency to draw all Erin's memories of magic to the surface, then she used obliviate to erase them from her mind.

The whole process seemed to only take a couple minutes, but when Olivia opened her eyes again, the sky had grown completely dark. Erin, released from the magic, slumped to the ground, asleep. Olivia moved the other girl into a more comfortable position, then went about lighting the fire and heating their dinner, which was leftover vegetable stew from a few nights previous. She used her wand to fill all three of the water bottles the other girl carried in her backpack, and then the smaller one she carried on her belt while they walked. Finally, she went to collect her pack, and the animals, stowing her wand in the bag where it wouldn't be seen. Finally, she started to grow tired and decided it was best to wake the other girl.

"Erin," Olivia said, kneeling next to the other girl. "Erin, wake up." Erin groaned, then opened her eyes, blinking against the light from the fire.

"Oh, did I fall asleep?" Erin asked, sitting up with a yawn. Olivia leaned back, watching the other girl for signs of confusion. "My head hurts."

"You hit it," Olivia said, lying for the first time since she had met the girl. "And passed out, don't you remember?"

"No," Erin said, grinning sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. "Let me guess, you have some weird tonic made out of frog slime and moss that will take my headache away?" She said, laughing, and Olivia sighed in relief.

"Not quite," Olivia said, chuckling. "But I did warm up dinner, and that will probably make you feel a bit better."

"Oh good, I'm starving," Erin said, turning back to her bags to dig out the collapsible dining ware they had been using the past few weeks. Erin was carrying enough supplies for two people, because, as she had told Olivia on the fist day they had met, she was supposed to be traveling with a guide. Erin had confided in Olivia that her guide had tried to come on to her when they had been alone in the woods, and when Erin had rejected him, he had left her alone.

They ate in silence, both covering yawns.

"So we'll be at the city by the day after tomorrow," Erin said, using a little water from her bottle to rinse their dishes. "Are you going to stick around for a while, or head off right away?"

"I need to be getting home," Olivia said. "It's been too long." And she still hadn't heard from her grandfather. Judging by local weather, it was March, meaning that it had been almost six months since her last letter.

"That's too bad," Erin said, repacking her things. "I'll miss having you around."

"Well, if you are ever in London..." Olivia began, then realized that the other girl would have no way of contacting her.

"Yeah, we'll get together and have lunch or something," Erin said, chuckling. "Do you have a phone number?"

"No, I don't," Olivia said, only knowing what a phone was from earlier questioning. "But, on Charring Cross Road, in London, there's a pub called The Leaky Cauldron."

"Weird name," Erin commented.

"Quite," Olivia said, nodding. "But if you go in and ask the barkeeper for Olivia Ollivander, he'll be able to get me for you."

"I doubt I'll ever be in London," Erin said, sighing. "But yeah, I'll stop by if I'm ever there. And here," she pulled out a small card and scribbled on the back of it, then handed it over. "If you're ever in New York, give me a call."

"I will," Olivia said, accepting the card, and tucking it into her pack. "Now get some sleep, we still have a full day of hiking tomorrow."

"Yes mother," Erin said, rolling her eyes, then grinning. "Night."

"Good night," Olivia said, climbing into her sleeping bag, being careful not to dislodge the iguana that had already gone to sleep. When she was settled, she took the phoenix egg from it's sling and held it in both hands, letting its heat fill her. She drifted off to sleep, warm and content.

* * *

Erin and Olivia parted ways two days later at the docks, with a hug and promise to see each other again. Erin then made her way into the city, and Olivia found a boat captain heading north.

It took nearly a full month, and a change of four ships, for her to finally be back in England, then another week to get back to London.

The city was overcast when she came to the outskirts of it. She had stopped at a roadside rest area the night before, and had showered and rinsed the dirt from her clothing, so she didn't stand out much in the city, though she did get some odd looks from the few passerby's that noticed the two foot long iguana that rode atop her large backpack. She was sure she would have gotten looks about the Tamerin monkey as well if the creature didn't blend in so well with her hair.

Both animals had decided that they liked Olivia, and they wanted to travel with her to parts of the world that they had never been before. She had worn the Phoenix egg around her neck since she had received it, and it kept her warm, though the late may air was still chilly as it swept through the city.

It took her nearly half the day to reach the Leaky Cauldron, and she stopped just outside the back door to dig her wand from her bag, then she used it to tap the bricks and reveal the entrance to Diagon Alley.

The place was far less colorful than she remembered it being, and Olivia realized then that she still didn't know the status of the war her grandfather had mentioned. The street was nearly empty, she only saw a handful of people, all of the rushing about without making eye contact.

She drew up in front of her grandfathers store and surveyed it in shock. It was obviously abandoned, the door hung from its hinges, and the windows smashed to bits. Inside, the shelves had been emptied and upturned, and everything was covered with thick dust.

Olivia walked behind what had once been a display case and down the back hallway. The storage room, where her grandfather had once stored wandmaking supplies, was completely cleaned out. Upstairs fared only slightly better. The first floor had been where her grandfather had once lived, but the place was completely trashed. The second floor, when she finally made it that far, was locked, which she took as a good sign. Her grandfather had always locked this room, just in case a customer managed to wander up that far, but also because it was sealed against magics leaking in. This was his workroom, where he made the wands, and all the contents of the room were sensitive to wandering magic. She released the seal on the door, as only another Ollivander could do, and let out a breath of relief when she saw that everything was in it's place, though slightly dusty. She left her pack on the floor leaning against the wall, then took the animals back down to the living area, after locking the workroom door behind her. She used her wand to clean the place up, watching as drawers returned to dressers, and the bed righted itself. She went into the second room, where she had lived when she wasn't at school, and found some cleaner clothing to change into, then left the two creatures curled up on her bed and went downstairs.

The ground level took longer to put to rights. She fixed the windows first, then the door, cutting off the cool wind that had been rattling through the building, then she turned to the shelves. Most of the boxes that once held wands were empty, but a few still held their prizes. She suspected that who, or what, ever had gone through here had focused more upon causing havoc than stealing the wands, since they had missed about a dozen of them. She sent the empty boxes back into the store room, then carefully set each full box on the shelf behind the newly repaired display case.

When she had done as much as she could to fix the place up, she left the building, locking the front door behind her, and set off down the street in search of somewhere that could give her information.

A majority of the people in the alley way seemed to be hovering around the most colorful building, and she walked toward it slowly, cradling her Phoenix egg in its sling as she walked. Outside the place, she paused to draw her coat over her chest, and read the name on the window. Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. The name Weasley sounded familiar to her. She knew there were quite a few in that family, and one had been in her year, though she couldn't remember which one it had been.

She walked inside, moving aside for the people exiting the building. They apparated as soon as they hit the street, which explained the lack of people in the Alley. If people were in such a hurry to get out of sight, it must have meant that the war was still present, and they were avoiding notice. Though, if the war was still a present danger, why were these people going to a joke shop, of all places?

She walked inside, eyeing the shelves, then the people. There were a lot in here, more than she had thought there were from the street view. She slid past them, up to the counter, eyeing the girl sitting behind it. She looked as though she had recently been crying, or maybe she was just very tired, Olivia couldn't tell, but the girls name floated into her mind immediately.

"Ginevra Weasley," Olivia said softly, and the girl looked up, brows drawn and her lips pulled into a frown.

"I really prefer Ginny," she said, looking Olivia over. "Can I help you?"

"My name is Olivia Ollivander," Olivia said, keeping her voice soft. Ginny's eyes lit with recognition, then she frowned again. "I've been out of the country for more than a year, and I was hoping you could tell me where my grandfather is."

"Oh, right, yes, he wouldn't have been able to write," Ginny said, though it seemed like she was talking mostly to herself. "Mr. Ollivander is still at St. Mungo's."

"St. Mungo's?" Olivia repeated, her face falling.

"No, no, he's alright," Ginny said quickly. "Well, I mean, he will be. Look, let me get my brother, he can take you."

"Thank you for the information," Olivia said. "But I can take myself."

"Oh," Ginny said, again sounding like she was talking to herself. "You haven't gotten any news have you?" Olivia shook her head. "Well, the war just ended a few weeks ago and..." she trailed off, staring blankly down at the counter top for a moment, before shaking her head and looking up again. Olivia noticed that her eyes were full of tears. Ginny cleared her throat before continuing. "We aren't supposed to go anywhere alone, not until the Auror's round up the last of the death eaters."

"Oh," Olivia said, nodding her understanding. "Then yes, I will accept your brother's company, thank you."

"Er, right," Ginny said, then shook her head and turned to go through a door behind the counter. Olivia stood arms crossed over her stomach as she waited until Ginny came back, a taller red haired man following after her. "This is my brother Percy. Percy, this is Olivia Ollivander."

"Yeah, I remember," Percy said, giving her a thin smile. "We were in the same year at Hogwarts."

"Yes, we were," Olivia said, shifting her weight. She was anxious to get to the hospital, but she didn't want to be rude.

"Ginny says you just got back into town?" Percy asked.

"Yes," Olivia said, nodding slowly. "I didn't know my grandfather was in the hospital until just now."

"Of course," Percy said, frowning. "Well I'll take you to the hospital then," he said, then turned to Ginny. "I'm heading to the ministry after that. Charlie will be by in about an hour."

"We'll be fine," Ginny said, giving her brother a hug in farewell.

"So where have you been?" Percy asked as they walked toward the front of the store.

"South America," Olivia said, walking slightly in front of him.

"That's not very specific," he pointed out, his voice a tad dry.

"I started off in Peru for eight months, then I spent five months in the rain forests and ended up in Brazil," she said.

"Rain forests?" He repeated. "Why?"

"Why does it matter?" Olivia asked as they reached the street.

"I suppose it doesn't," he said, his lips pulling up into an almost amused smile. "I was just making conversation, though now I remember from school that you don't usually converse."

"I never saw the point," Olivia said, shrugging a little. "Can we go, please?"

"Yes," he said, holding out his arm. "I'll side-along apparate you. The hospital has wards up now, you can only apparate in if you've been authorized."

"Oh," she said, frowning for a moment, then she rested her hand on his arm. Seconds later they were at the hospital front desk.

"Percy," the front desk wizard said in greeting, then turned to Olivia, frowning slightly.

"This is Olivia Ollivander," Percy explained. "She's here to see her grandfather."

"Very well," the man said, getting to his feet.

"I'll be on my way then," Percy said.

"Thank you for escorting me," Olivia said, then turned to follow the wizard down the hall.

"Here we are," the man said, gesturing to a door about halfway down the first hallway. "Don't stay too long, please. He still needs a lot of rest."

"Yes, sir," Olivia said. "Thank you."

The room was quiet as she entered, and she took a moment to study her grandfathers face while he slept. He was very thin, almost unhealthily so, and very pale. She didn't remember him looking so old, either. She sat on the only chair in the room, settling in to wait for him to wake up. He had deep bags under his eyes, and his arms, resting on top of the blanket, looked bruised and far too thin.

Olivia fretted for a while about being away when she should have been here to help him, but she let the thoughts go quickly. There was no point in wishing the past was different, it had already happened and she could do nothing to change it, she could only be here to help now.

Her grandfather was nearing a hundred years in age, which was common among wizards, but according to Erin, that was rare in the muggle world, so Olivia was left to wonder how much longer her grandfather would be around.

"Grandpa?" Olivia asked, drawn from her thoughts by faint movement on the bed. She stood to lean over him, seeing if his eyes would open or if he was just moving in his sleep.

"Olivia?" He asked, his voice faint. She grinned at him when he finally looked up at her, and he smiled back, then groaned. Olivia turned to look for water and, spotting a cup on the bedside table, leaned over to grab it, then hand it to him as he slowly propped himself up against the headboard. He took a sip, coughed, then drank some more.

"You don't look so good," she pointed out. "What happened?"

"The war happened," he said with a shrug, his voice stronger now that his throat wasn't so dry. "I want to hear what you have learned since you've been away."

"A lot," she said, letting him change the subject.

"Well, we have time," he said then chuckled. "I'm not going anywhere."

She smiled at him, then began telling him the things she had learned over the past year. She told him about the phoenix egg, even letting him hold it, and she smiled when his skin grew a little less pale, warmed by the heat coming from the egg. She told him about her new muggle friend, and the things the old witch had told her before she had died, and while he didn't agree with the woman's way of wand making, he said nothing against it. Finally, she ran out of new things to say and they sat in silence for a few moments.

"How long do you need to stay here?" Olivia asked at last.

"I'm only here because the healers said I shouldn't be at home alone," he said.

"Oh grandfather," Olivia said with a sigh. "You should have written to me. I would have come home sooner."

"That's exactly why I didn't write," he said, giving her a smile. "I wanted you away from all this madness."

"Well then you should have written when things calmed down," she said. "There's no need for you to be here when you could be at home, more comfortable."

"Things only just settled down about two weeks ago," he said. "The final battle took place at Hogwarts, on the fifth."

"Oh," she said, understanding why the streets had been so empty. People were still afraid to go out. "Is The Daily Prophet back to normal? I know you said that it had been taken over."

"Yes, I think so," he said, closing his eyes.

"I'll let you get back to sleep," she said, getting to her feet again. "I'll talk to the healer on my way out and see about getting you home."

"Thank you," he said. "I love you Olivia. I'm glad you're home."

"I love you too, grandpa," she said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "See you in the morning."

When she settled things with the healer, who promised to make arrangements for a portkey in the morning, Olivia headed back to the shop. She stopped by the apothecary on the way, gathering the things for the pain potion the healer had said her grandfather would need at least once a day for a while. She wasn't the best at potions, but she could follow directions well enough.

By late afternoon, she was back in the shop, cleaning the ground floor again. While magic could get rid of the dust and cobwebs, Olivia had found that cleaning by hand just made everything look more well cared for.

The monkey had come down to join her after a time, but he had told her that the iguana preferred to sleep in the sunbeam upstairs. She laughed, and gave him some grapes to nibble on while she cleaned.

A knocking on the front door interrupted her just after sunset, and when she pulled it open, she was faced with two ministry officials in clean blue robes.

"Hello," she said, standing aside to let them in. "Can I help you?"

"We were looking for Mr. Ollivander," the older of the two men said.

"He's still in the hospital," she said. "He'll be back in the morning."

"Very good," the stout man said, his voice high. "Who might you be, miss?"

"I'm Olivia Ollivander," she said, shaking hands with the older man first, then the younger one. "Garrack Ollivander is my grandfather."

"Tiberius Ogden," the older man said. "This is Rupert Limus. We are part of the newly created Department of Magical Reconstruction, which I'm sure you've read about."

"I haven't quite had the time, sir," Olivia said, gesturing to the cleaning towels and bucket of water around her. "I've only just come back from travelling abroad. I'm afraid I'm a bit behind on the news."

"Ah, yes, well, since the end of the war two weeks ago, the ministry is finding itself with quite a bit of rebuilding to do," the younger man, Limus, said. "Between damaged properties and those who were directly targeted by the Death Eaters, we have quite a large expense in trying to get everything back to the way it was."

"We are in charge of taking donations," the older man clarified.

"Oh," Olivia said, nodding. "I would like to help, but I'm afraid we don't have any money left at the moment."

"We aren't looking for money," Ogden said. "We were hoping that you could assist us in replacing the wands that were destroyed by the Death Eaters. We have dozens of muggle born witches and wizards that no longer have wands to use."

"Yes, of course," Olivia said, brightening. Fashioning wands was something she, at least, could help with.

"The ministry will be able to reimburse you for the trouble, but it won't be as much as the wands are worth," Limus said. "Everyone is rebuilding, and right now our fund is barely covering housing for those who need it."

"That's okay," Olivia said. "I'm happy to help, we won't need reimbursement."

"Well, if you're sure," Ogden said, looking relieved.

"I am," Olivia said, nodding. "I'll need a couple weeks to make the wands, but once my grandfather is back on his feet the work will be completed faster."

"That's alright," Limus said, nodding. "Onto the next issue," he said, sounding as though he was reading from a list. "We have close to fifty families that no longer have a home. Do you have any extra space that could be lent to them until we find more permanent housing?"

"I'm afraid not," Olivia said, shaking her head. "My grandfather and I both live here. We have a shed out back, but it's not suitable for anyone to be living in."

"Alright, I thought not," Limus said. "We just have to ask everybody."

"I understand," she said. "Please ask those who need a wand to stop by when they have a chance. They can try the wands that were left here, and if those are not a correct fit, I can fashion one more specific to them if I have a chance to talk with them."

"Yes miss," Ogden said, then held his hand out again. "Thank you for your assistance. We'll be on our way now."

"Good night," she said, holding the door open for them to leave. When they were gone, she locked the door and lowered the blinds on the windows, then put away her cleaning supplies. Now that it was necessary, she headed up to the workroom level to start preparing the supplies she had brought home.


End file.
